Weekly Recap: Thanksgiving Week | Personal Growth Journal
Weekly Recap: Room to Thrive (Thanksgiving Week)
Every week I look back at my personal growth journal entries to see what they reveal. This week, from November 23 to November 29, 2025, was all about finally being in a space where I can fully be me, and growing while everyone's watching. Here's the honest breakdown: what went right, where I'm growing, and what I'm taking into next week.
Happy Thanksgiving week, waffles. This one is the holiday edition.
The Vibe: How This Week Felt
Grateful. Lit up. Seen.
If you caught last week's recap, you know my internship site had a transition. We got an interim program director, and after one full week with her, the whole place feels different. The culture shifted, people opened up, and the energy is lighter.
I always take me wherever I go. But there's a difference between bringing your whole self somewhere and being in a space that actually has room for her. This week, I had the room. Add a holiday on the way and the first coquito of the season, and it was a good week.
Top Wins This Week
1. My first work TikTok, with my coworkers. I'm going to be honest: I've spent a lot of time scrolling Instagram, low-key jealous of the people who make fun videos with their coworkers. I'd never done it. This week I did, and not just solo. We made TikToks together, took a group picture for the upcoming staff party, and recorded even more videos. It sounds small, but it proves the environment finally has space for my personality to thrive instead of shrink.
2. Glowing feedback from live supervision. This is the big one. My new internship supervisor sat in on one of my live supervision sessions, and I'm still smiling about the feedback.
Some context: I'm moving from case management into therapy, and they are completely different skill sets. I'm learning something new while being watched, guided, and assessed. Being under the microscope as a beginner can bring up something close to shame, even when you know it's part of the process.
I walked into that session with a plan and an agenda. The session had other ideas. It went somewhere I didn't expect, and it got heavy. But I stayed grounded. I knew my forms and my process by heart, so I never had to stop and scramble. I circled back to what mattered, and I gave space where it was needed.
Afterward, my supervisor told me she'd been writing notes, hoping I'd go back to certain points. I did. For the first time, I felt the clinician in me show up under pressure. Therapy is new, but I'm not.
3. Getting to know my son's world. My oldest has been taking me through it lately, y'all. But this week I met some of the new people he's spending time with, including some of their parents. Understanding who's in his life gave me more peace than all the worrying ever did. My other two babies are doing good, too.
Small wins count. Progress is progress.
Growth Edge: Where I'm Stretching
What to improve: The semester has about two to three weeks left. If I don't finish my internship hours, I can take an incomplete and wrap everything up by January 15th, but I don't want to. I want a real break where I can actually enjoy the holidays. So this week I'm mapping out exactly how many hours are left and blocking them out on my calendar now, not later.
I'm also doing my turkey trot on Saturday, and I haven't walked in a long time. I'm going to hit the gym Friday, ease back in, and treat Saturday as a comeback, not a race.
What I might be missing about myself: I described being observed as something that could feel shameful. Then I described handling one of the hardest sessions of my training with calm and skill. So which story is true?
What if I'm further along than I let myself believe?
And here's another one. Everybody was supposed to come to the parade with me, and one by one, everybody dropped out. My response? "If nobody wants to go, I'll go by myself." Where else in my life am I waiting for company to do something I'm fully capable of doing on my own?
Quote to Remember
"I always take me wherever I go."
This stuck because the culture shift at work didn't change who I am. It just finally made room for her.
Content Sparks: Ideas Worth Sharing
Blog post: Learning in Public: What Live Supervision Taught Me About Shame and Growth. What it feels like to be a beginner again, under a microscope, after years of being the expert in a different role.
Video: From a Hospital Bed to the Turkey Trot. Two years ago on turkey trot weekend, I was in the hospital. Last year I was sick. This year I'm back at my tradition. It's a comeback story told in three Thanksgivings.
Social post: Thanksgiving, Stretched. I'm not cooking one big meal this year. Macaroni one day, lasagna the next, turkey after that. Because we ain't eating all that money in one day. It's a real, relatable take on holiday budgeting.
Mantra for Next Week
"Take me wherever I go, and go anyway."
Whether it's the parade, the gym, or the last stretch of the semester, I'm showing up whether anybody comes with me or not.
🎤 J.U.M.P. Mic Drop: Journey of the Underdog Making Progress
Two Thanksgivings ago, I was in a hospital. Last year, I was sick in bed. This week, I'm getting glowing feedback in a field I'm still learning, making TikToks with my coworkers, and lacing up for the turkey trot. My braids are too heavy, my neck hurts, and I'm keeping them in anyway, because I paid good money and I finish what I start.
The underdog didn't get lucky. She kept walking, even when she hadn't walked in a while.
J.U.M.P. out. 🎤
Ready to Make Your Own Jump?
If this week's recap hit home, there's more to come. In Jumping The Rope: Move Yourself and Manifest Yourself, I share how to design the life you keep dreaming about, even while you're still under construction yourself.
This week was all about finding room to thrive, and that's exactly what Chapter [X] is about.
Get your copy: http://bit.ly/jumpingtherope
What was your biggest win this week? Drop it in the comments, waffles. And if you're ready to stop surviving and start designing, grab Jumping The Rope at the link above. Subscribe for next week's J.U.M.P. check-in.
Happy Thanksgiving. I love y'all. Talk soon. 💛
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